The Story of Us
by Miss Professor Plum
Summary: Annabeth Chase was heartbroken by the person she trusted most. Years later, fate brings him into her life again. But that isn't the only thing new in her life. When a new prophecy is declared, not only are their lives endangered, but the world could be too. Will Annabeth and Percy have a future together? Or is it too dangerous to try? Thanks to fangirlofall7 and LiveLaughLove728 :)
1. Girls' Day Out

**I'm baaaacckkkk! Hope that wasn't too long of a hiatus. This story is a lot better than it was originally, thanks to LiveLaughLove728! Things have changed, so I suggest you re-read it if you have read it before, and if you haven't, read on!**

I remember when I was a little girl. I used to read fairy tales about the prince and the princess always lived "happily ever after". How they got married and lived in huge stone castles. How they had families that they loved and cared for, and who loved and cared for them. How their lives were normal, with no monsters attacking them at every corner. Well, I figured something out a long time ago: Fairy tales don't _exist_. There is no happily ever after, a final "the end". You don't always end up with the person you _thought_ you loved. You may not end up with anyone at all. Heck, if you're like me, you'll end up fighting for the rest of your life.

I know, I know, you came here for the story; not to hear a 23 year old woman crush your childhood dreams, but I just needed to get that off my chest.

Here's the story:

Once upon a time... No, that's too cliché. It was a dark, stormy night… That's really overdone. Just the other day...Better, but I'm going to start this my own way.

"Annabeth, get your butt down here before we leave and you have to walk to the mall!" Thalia called impatiently from downstairs. "You have 5 seconds to get down before we're leaving, with or without you!"

I chased my dog, Bailey, across my room, my stolen sock hanging from his mouth. He stopped on one side of the bed, while I stopped on the other.

"One!" Thalia began counting.

Bailey and I stared at each other intensely, his brown eyes meeting my gray ones.

"Two!"

I reached over the bed and snatched the white sock from his mouth. Thank the gods it wasn't covered in too much slobber.

"Three!"

I pulled on the slightly wet sock, followed by my other gray converse.

"Four!"

I grabbed my purse and ran down the stairs.

"Five!"

I jumped off of the last step, landing lightly in front of my friends and smiled.

"Let's go," I said calmly. Calypso gave me a confused look, but Hazel just laughed it off, her cinnamon curls bouncing. We-Hazel, Calypso, Piper, Thalia and I, were heading to the mall for a "girls day out," since we all happened to be off of work today. I was the CEO of a famous architectural firm and since I had no one to come home to except for Bailey, I worked all the time and rarely took day off. I hadn't spent time with the girls in... well, a very long time.

A minute later, we all piled into Piper's silver SUV. "I call shotgun!" shouted Thalia. I swear, even though she a 28 year old in a 16 year old body, she still acted she was 3. Piper drove, with Hazel, Calypso and I in the back, and Thalia, of course, in the passenger seat.

"So, Annabeth..." started Piper, but I already knew what she was going to say and interrupted before she could say it.

"No, I have not and I don't plan to," I answered quickly. I'd been off the dating game ever since… he'd broken my heart years ago. His name was not to _ever_ be mentioned and my friends knew that. Don't get me wrong, I'd been asked out since and had even accepted a few times, but it was never serious.

"Come on Annabeth, it's been five years! Forget about him and move on!" exclaimed Calypso. I shook my head, but deep down, I knew she was right, as much as I hated to admit it. Calypso had always been a romantic, especially considering that she fell in love with anyone that had landed on her island, and she was always trying to set me up. Everyone stayed silent after that until we reached the mall.

As we walked towards the main entrance, we argued over which store to go to first. Everyone immediately quieted though when Thalia threatened hurt us if we didn't go to Rue 21 first. You do not want to mess with Thalia. The last person who'd tried to stand up to her... Well, let's just say, his nose won't ever be straight again.

As we headed toward Rue 21, I couldn't help but take pride in how well I designed this building. The mall was very spacious; thousands of footprints clicking on the red tile echoed through the building. The large shards of light, let in by the windows lining the ceiling, cast onto the three floors, illuminating the mall in natural light. Thousands of stores were spaced along each floor, ranging from clothing stores to book stores, and everything in between.

"Annabeth, _move_!" yelled Piper, pulling me out of the way of the column I'd been about to walk into. "Annabeth, get out of La La Land and join us in reality, please!

"Sorry," I muttered. We stopped in front of the central elevator and waited for a couple of minutes as it made its way sluggishly to the bottom floor. We clambered in, laughing at some stupid joke Calypso had made about Leo. I hadn't seen the son of Hephaestus, or any of the guys from the quest to Greece for a while.

There was only one other person on the elevator; his head was down and he had sunglasses on, which prevented me from getting a good look at him. My first thought, of course, was Monster, but his posture and stance was not that of any monster I'd ever encountered, not matter how well disguised. Still, there was something familiar about him, about the sweatshirt he was wearing, or maybe the way he wore it. I shook it off. I needed a break more than I knew, apparently. Still...

"Excuse me, sir, um; are you going to the second floor?" I asked rather awkwardly. He looked up and stared into my eyes, or at least I thought he did; his sunglasses made it hard to tell. A strange rush of familiarity flooded through me and it seemed to hit him too. Before I could ask though, he nodded his head quickly and looked back down. I eyed him for a second, and then, meeting the eyes of my friends, shrugged and pressed the button for the second floor. We all stood in an awkward silence until the elevator stopped and the doors opened.

We all got off; the girls and I going one way, the stranger going the other. I glanced behind me, watching him walk away. I didn't know why or how, but somehow, I had some relation to him. I knew him from somewhere; I was sure of it. As we walked towards Rue 21, my thoughts drifted back to the man in the green sweatshirt. I absolutely knew I had seen him before, that we had met. Something about his lean figure, the shape of his nose and jaw line, his messy black hair, the way he stood and walked were all so familiar…

I snapped back to reality and saw something out of the corner of my eye. It was the most beautiful dress. I normally just went for the simple jeans and a tee shirt, but this was absolutely stunning. It was a gray chevron jersey maxi dress and it was beautiful. As I reached for it, another hand reached out a split second before I did. "Hey!" I looked up at the freckle covered face the hand belonged to, into the brilliant emerald eyes that immediately drew my attention. I immediately recognized her. "Rachel? Hey! It's been forever!"

Realization spread across Rachel's face. "Annabeth! How are you? It's been too long!" She pulled me into a bear hug, nearly cracking my ribs. Smiling, I squeezed back just as hard. Rachel and I, though we had started off nearly enemies due to reasons I didn't like thinking about now, had become good friends as teenagers, and all our previous quarrels, which had seemed like such a big deal at the time, immediately became water under the bridge. I saw her at camp occasionally when I stopped by, though my visits had become less and less frequent as of late, due to my life being crazy busy.

I studied her after pulling out of our embrace. Her bright crimson hair had grown longer since I'd last seen her, and it was as curly and wild as it had ever been in its ponytail. Camp had tanned her skin previously pale skin over the years, though her freckles only increased in number. As usual, her jeans were splattered in a variety of paint colors. Even now that she was an adult, Rachel never really changed.

"So, how's Camp going? Any new prophecies I should know about?" I asked. My tone and question we lighthearted, but part of me, ever wary after everything we'd all been through over the years, was very relieved when Rachel shook her head.

"No, not really. I've been having this weird dream lately though, of the Coliseum in Rome. There are always these voices inside, speaking Ancient Greek. I can't see inside or anything, but whatever is speaking, it's powerful. Gods. Or maybe even Titans. But there are at least two of them, one man and one woman. The words become clearer each time I have the dream, but no dice on deciphering much yet. Revenge seems to be a popular topic though, from the bits and pieces I have caught. Hopefully, I'll be able to hear more soon. Tonight, maybe." She looked like she was trying to convince herself.

I listened, taking in the new information, a sense of dread settling over me. If Rachel's dreams were anything to go by, and in my experience, they always were, something was stirring and I wouldn't be surprised to hear of a new prophecy. I just hoped a new set of demigods would be up for the task. I was retired. Still...

"Wow, okay. Guess I should maybe meet with Chiron soon."

Rachel nodded her agreement before glancing down at the watch on her wrist. She sighed. "As great as this has been, I actually have somewhere to be..."

I nodded understandingly. I sort of did too. "No problem. It was good to see you. Keep me updated, okay?"

"I sure will," she said, pulling out an old receipt, jotting her number on the back of it, and handing it to me. "Here's my number. And," she added, a grin appearing on her face, "Be careful of those columns out there. I hear broken noses aren't the greatest." She laughed as she walked away. I felt a blush creep across my face. Guess she saw that.

With the dress in hand, I went to look for the girls, who had disappeared. I found Thalia eyeing some ripped black jeans a few aisles down and made my way over to her. "Guess who I just saw?" I said.

"Who?" she asked absentmindedly.

I rolled my eyes. "Rachel. She may have a new prophecy," Her blue eyes widened to the size of saucers

"What? Another one so soon! It was basically yesterday when we defeated old Dirt Face" Hazel joined us then, carrying what looked like an orange sundress on her arm.

"What is going on? And why are we talking about dirt?" I explained to her.

"Really? I just hope it isn't about any of us!" she exclaimed.

"What's going on?" Calypso asked as she sauntered over. I repeated myself once more.

"At least I'm not a demigod. I don't know how y'all do it!"

Piper walked over. "How we do it, you ask? Well, I have this little thing called charmspeak..."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not explaining this again," I replied, smiling. Hazel did for me.

After the supposed new prophecy's current status was known to everyone, we headed to the checkout. I paid for everything and we headed to the food court. I was absolutely starving, since, thanks to a certain impatient daughter of Zeus, I hadn't had time to eat breakfast that morning. , I decided to get Chinese food while the others headed to McDonald's (Cue the eye roll).

After I got my Kung pao chicken, I turned and walked towards the table we'd found earlier. My shoe, apparently, was untied-some daughter of Athena I was, and I tripped, bumping into someone in the process. We both toppled over and fell onto the hard floor. The poor stranger took the brunt of the impact as I landed on top of him. Blinking, I suddenly found myself face to face with the most beautiful sea green orbs, which were staring right back into mine.

A sudden, electric, and not necessarily good, jolt shot through me. For the first time in a very long time-maybe ever, I was too shocked to move. The stranger's (who was much too familiar to actually be a stranger) eyes widened and I knew he recognized me too. A memory surfaced to the forefront of my mind: me, running away as tears spilled from my eyes and sobs threatened to overtake me, running away from the one good thing I'd ever had in the world, running from the first permanent thing I thought I'd ever had. This man, whom I had just fallen into and landed on top of, with the same sea green eyes I had relied on for so many years, was no stranger. Not even close.

Above me, I heard someone clear their throat and looked up to see Calypso, standing above us and clearly trying hard not to laugh. The food court had grown remarkably quiet. Everyone was staring at us. I got a hold of myself immediately and got to my feet.

I didn't wait for anyone to speak. I didn't wait to make sure the green-eyed man was okay. I didn't wait for anything.

Dropping everything, I ran away as fast as I could.

**1) What is Annabeth's dog's name?**

**2)Who was the man on the elevator?**

**Make sure to review to tell me what you think about the...change! I really hope y'all like it! Don't forgot to review to answer the questions!**


	2. Boys' Day Out

**Percy POV**

Everyone knows the story of Cinderella. How the prince met the princess and danced with her all night, lost in a world of dreams and perfection. How the clock struck midnight and Cinderella ran away, leaving her shoe on the castle steps and a permanent imprint on her prince's heart.

Now pause right there because I'm changing it up a bit. Instead of finding his princess again, the prince loses his chance and his princess forever. This is the other side of the fairytale, the other version of it. This is my story.

I met my princess when I was twelve years old. We went through so much together, everything from doing homework to saving the world. It should have been that way forever. We should have grown up and gotten married and been happy. We should have spent the rest of our lives together-and what great lives they would have been. "Should" have, because that isn't how it worked. Because life isn't the fairytale I had thought it was. In this story, the wicked witch succeeded in tearing everything apart, and before I had the chance to even register what was happening, my princess was gone and I would not be seeing her again.

But let me back up a bit. My name is Percy Jackson. I live in New York and teach mythology at Riverview Middle School to kids who are lucky enough to believe that it is only that. What I am about to tell you is what happens after my not-so-fairytale, five years after it, actually.

It began with a trip to the mall.

"Come _on_ Percy!" Jason called from the living room, "How long does it take to change? I'm pretty sure your dad's sea turtles move faster."

I rolled my eyes but smirked as I finished tying my shoe. If only Jason knew how fast sea turtles actually could move. Nevertheless, I picked up the pace a little and walked out to the living room, where Jason, Frank, Leo, and Nico all sat around, waiting.

"Ready when you are," I announced, grabbing my keys and wallet and stuffing them into my pocket.

"About time," Jason muttered jokingly. I just rolled my eyes again. They'd been waiting outside my apartment when I'd gotten home from a meeting for work. It wasn't my fault if they couldn't wait the five whole minutes it had taken me to change into some more appropriate clothes for seeing a movie at the mall. Everyone filed out of my apartment and downstairs to the lobby. I nodded my head to the doorman as I followed my friends out of the building.

"Shotgun!" Frank called when we reached the parking garage, which, with Jason behind the wheel, meant I would be crammed in the back with Leo and Nico. Great. We all climbed into Jason's black Honda, the three of us cramming into the too-small backseat. The doors had barely shut when he peeled out of there.

"So, have you found a new _mamacita_ yet, Percy?" Leo asked a few minutes into the drive, his tone only half-teasing. I just shook my head in response. This wasn't my favorite topic. There hadn't been anyone since _she'd_ left that night. There had never been anyone else ever.

Just thinking about it brought the unpleasant memories to the forefront of my mind. I remembered that night too well.

_This was it. I felt for the ring in my pocket, tapping Riptide, in pen form, nervously against my leg to give my hands something to do. I walked into the restaurant where she was meeting me after work._

_"Right this way, sir," the waitress said. She swayed her hips provocatively all the way to the table, but I was too preoccupied to notice._

_"I'll be back with the menus," she whispered into my ear and walked away. I barely heard her. I ran my fingers through my hair, probably completely messing it up. My heart was racing. Why was I so nervous? The waitress came back with the menus and set them on the table before me._

_"What would you like to drink?" she asked me, biting her lip._

_"Water's fine," I answered, oblivious to what she was doing. I just wanted my girlfriend to come already. I tapped my foot on the floor, nervous energy setting my nerves abuzz._

_What if I messed up? Or dropped the ring somewhere? What if she wasn't ready? If she said no? Was it the right time? I was so lost in thought, I didn't notice when the waitress returned._

_" Here's your water, sir." She licked her lips with a strange glint in her eyes. "And now it's time for dessert."_

_Before I could catch her meaning or really do much of anything, she jumped on me and kissed me hungrily. I jumped in surprise. Gods, her lips felt so wrong! I pushed her away from me, but it was too late. I heard a loud gasp behind me. Turning around, I saw my girlfriend standing a few feet away, gaping at me with tears forming in her eyes. She was furious. She marched up to me and slapped me. Hard. And then she turned and ran right back the way she'd come, out of the restaurant and out of my life. I chased after her but she was gone._

"Earth to Percy," Nico yelled, waving his hand in front of my face. "We're here." I snapped out of my depressing thoughts to find four pairs of eyes staring at me. We were at the Olympus mall. Yes, I said Olympus. The name was no coincidence. The place had been designed by _her_ architecture firm. As much as I hated to admit it, it was one of the reasons I liked it so much; I felt closer to her here. They also had an awesome movie theater and cool stores, or that's what I told myself anyway.

We first went to the Disney store. Or, more specifically, Leo dragged us inside it. He wanted to find something for Calypso. I wasn't paying enough attention to catch what. Frank helped him search while the rest of us stood awkwardly off to the side, probably looking distinctly out of place. I got bored and wandered off, aimlessly scanning the shelves for something that looked interesting to occupy myself. It wasn't any of the merchandise that caught my attention though, but a familiar head of red curls that I would have recognized anywhere.

"Rachel?" I called, and sure enough, the red head turned around, revealing herself to be the one and only Rachel Dare. "Hey" I said as I gave her a hug, "It's been so long!"

"Percy, hi!" she said, "Good to see you." She glanced toward the store's entrance and back at me, looking conflicted. "I'd love to stay and chat, I really would. There's something I need to tell you, but I kind of have to get back to camp, like, ASAP. I have a meeting with Apollo." She said his name softly so no one around us could hear. "I was only in here looking for a present for my baby cousin's birthday. I... I'll call you later?"

"O-kay?" I replied, slightly confused at her behavior. I hadn't seen Rachel in ages. She hadn't been at camp the last time I'd gone, but everything had seemed fine. But a meeting with Apollo? That sounded important. "Yeah, I-I guess that's fine."

"Okay, great!" she said, "I'll call you tonight. Nice seeing you, Perce! Keep your eyes open." She had an odd sort of sparkle in her eye when she said that last line. I tilted my head. Was that supposed to mean something? But Rachel just smiled at me one more time before heading off toward the exit, leaving me staring confusedly after her.

After the Disney store, we went to the movie theater, which was our actual destination. We saw "Avengers: Age of Ultron". It was a pretty good movie, but if Leo mentioned Thor's hammer one more time before it ended, I was going to kick him out myself.

We decided to grab lunch after it ended, but I needed to stop and buy some clothes for work, so we split up. Jason, Leo, Frank, and Nico headed to the food court and I stopped at Macy's quickly before heading toward the elevator to meet them.

A group of five girls stepped inside just before the elevator doors closed, and the second I saw them, my heart began thudding unevenly in my chest. Because I knew them. Hazel, Thalia, Piper, and Calypso. And if they were here, then the blonde with them... Annabeth.

Gods of Olympus, what was I supposed to do? I quickly put my sunglasses on and became very interested in the tile floor beneath us, praying they wouldn't notice me. I mean, the first four I could deal with. I'd seen them all pretty recently. But the blonde... no. I wasn't ready to open that can of worms again. As much as I wanted to, it wouldn't be pretty.

"Excuse me, sir, um; are you going to the second floor?"

I glanced up at her and suddenly couldn't catch my breath. She was even more beautiful than I remembered. She wore her hair longer now, to the bottom of her shoulder blades. Her arms were more toned, like she had been working out. Her lips were pinker and softer looking. Her eyes were exactly as I remembered them.

I realized I hadn't said anything yet. I nodded and looked down at the ground again, wishing desperately that I'd just taken the stairs. She was too observant not to recognize me, even after all this time. She just shrugged though and pressed the button.

It was the longest, most uncomfortable elevator ride of my life and I was really glad we weren't riding up to Olympus or something. Finally the doors opened and I breathed a sigh of relief as we all got out. I walked in one direction, while the girls walked in the other.

I got to the food court to find my friends halfway through their meals already. "Took you so long?" Nico asked around a bite of cheeseburger.

"Traffic," I answered, my mind still intently focused on the girls in the elevator. So close. Annabeth had been so close.

I went and bought food for myself before joining them. I didn't realize how hungry I was until I started eating. I stood and walked off to get some napkins because the bunch of us had made a pretty impressive mess.

On my way back to the table, someone tripped and fell into me. Normally, it wouldn't have been too big of a deal, but I had been walking and she caught me at just the right second to send us both to the floor and the napkins in my hand raining down around us. My head banged on the floor, which hurt a lot, and the stranger fell on top of me, which also didn't feel that great.

She'd closed her eyes, bracing for impact, but now opened them. They widened. And if I hadn't already known who it was just by the familiarity of her body, then her eyes definitely confirmed it. They were a million beautiful shades of gray, swirling together like storm clouds. My vision tunneled. Annabeth. I heard someone clear their throat above us. Calypso, along with several others, were staring at us. Annabeth was already in motion, having come to her senses. She pushed herself abruptly off me and got quickly to her feet, blushing like crazy and looking mortified. She didn't wait for any further explanation before she was gone, running away from me yet again.

**I saw the Age of Ultron a couple of weeks ago and it was awesome!**


	3. Memories and Ice Cream

**Hey guys! Here is the third chapter! Tomorrow, (or Wednesday) I'll be posting a new story! *screams and shouts of joy* I know I know, calm down everybody! This isn't actually my story, I am adopting it from Owlhead - jvr ****and continuing where she left off and making it so there are no curse words. It is called Love Hurts. You will see soon! Thank you for the reviews! Oh, I want to give a shout out to , an awesome author on this website! She has a new story called Terrible Things and it is amaZHANG! I just wanted to say that because she is a frequent reviewer of mine and I, hers.**

I burst through mall's central doors, tears blurring my vision. People gave me dirty looks and called me a few choice names as I pushed past them, but I didn't stop until I was outside.I stopped on the sidewalk a good two hundred feet from the entrance, trying to get a hold of myself without much success. I hated crying. I didn't cry. Especially in public, but this was no stopping it. It had been five years, but gods, it still hurt so bad. I took a deep breath and looked around. There wasn't much point in taking a cab home when Piper could give me a ride for free, but I had to go somewhere. I had to get away from this place and... _him_. I started moving again, jogging this time, heading toward Frosty's, the little ice cream shop a block over. I knew the owner there and it was certainly better than waiting outside where anyone, particularly green-eyed, cheating anyones, could find me.

The bell jingled above the door as I walked into the shop. It was small; the majority of the space was taken up with the handful of multicolored tables that could fit inside, but it was pcomfortable and quiet. The store was brightly lit and the walls were painted a bright yellow, cheerful, even though it was slightly faded and peeling with age.

Frosty's was owned by Mrs. Johnson, this sweet old lady who was about five foot nothing and insisted I called her by her first name, Edith. Her husband had passed away a year or so ago and left the shop for her to run. Business was slow and she could barely keep the place afloat, but Edith would never sell. Frosty's had meant too much to Mr. Johnson for her to even consider it. I stopped by pretty often to say hi, and was probably pretty close to her only customer. I approached the counter, hoping my eyes weren't as puffy as they felt.

"Hi, Edith" I said, trying to keep the tears from my voice. I obviously didn't do a very good job, because Edith's smile immediately became a concerned frown.

"Annabeth, dear, what's wrong?" She asked gently. She came from around the corner to by my side. I took a deep breath, trying to hold myself together, frustrated with how poor a job I was doing.

"I'm fine," I told her, another unconvincing attempt.

"You don't look fine to me, Sweetheart," Edith said, calling my bluff. She sat down in a chair, patting the one next to her. "Talk to me." Taking another deep breath, I sat down next to her. The place was empty anyway.

"I saw Percy today," I began, and immediately I was swimming in unhappy memories.

_I sat at my desk, taping my pencil against my nearly finished essay. Gods of Olympus, why did professors feel the need to assign so much homework? I'd been working for over two hours._

_I glanced at the clock again, my heart jolting. I was supposed to meet Percy in 15 minutes! Abandoning the unfinished essay, I rushed to get ready. I got to the restaurant ten minutes late, but knowing Percy, he hadn't been here very long himself._

_I walked into the restaurant. The maitre d' led me to the table Percy had reserved. When I turned the corner though, I couldn't help but do a double take, gasping almost involuntarily. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. There was Percy, as expected, but he wasn't alone. A Waitress was with him, nearly in his lap, kissing him like there was no tomorrow. I fought the tears that threatened to come. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction. Percy, having heard me, shoved the waitress off and turned toward me. I marched up, furious, and slapped him as hard as I could before turning and fleeing before the sobs overtook me. A million awful questions played over in my mind; a million terrible emotions swirled inside me. He called after me, but I was already gone.  
_

Edith just looked at me as I finished my recount, sympathy written in her kind brown eyes. She handed me a tissue from a little pack in her apron pocket. I took it gratefully.

The door chimed again and I turned in time to see Piper, Thalia, Hazel, and Calypso enter the shop.

"I told you she'd be here!" Thalia beamed at them.

"Oh, Annabeth, we're so sorry!" Hazel said, rushing over. The other three girls followed suit, nodding agreement.

"Are these your friends?" asked Edith.

I nodded at the old woman and introduced them all.

"So, Annabeth," Calypso began rather awkwardly, "I'm assuming you want to go home."

"We were wondering if you wanted us to spend the night with you," interrupted Hazel. I raised my eyebrows. A sleepover? What are we, twelve? But, the thought actually did sound like fun , and after today... I sighed, but shrugged and nodded my agreement. "Sounds good to me."

Cheers went up through the ice cream shop. I smiled at their enthusiasm. Even Thalia seemed happy.

The door opened again, emitting a tall, familiar figure. He didn't need to come very close for me to recognize him. My heart constricted painfully and I fought the urge to cry again.

Percy Jackson. The last person on Earth I wanted to see. Especially twice in one day. He, of course, was oblivious to this though as he walked towards me.

"Annabeth, I-" he began, but I cut him off. An angry confidence coursed through me.

"Look, I don't want to hear your lies or apologies. I don't want to have anything to do with you. You're crazy if you honestly expected something different. I can't stand to be around you. Just leave me alone, Percy. Don't bother following me."

I pushed past him, flashing Edith a grateful look, and walked out the door. Even in my almost blinding anger, I couldn't help but glance quickly back at him as I left. Hurt and pain filled his eyes. My heart fluttered at the sight of his vulnerability, but I shoved the feeling aside.

I left the building, tears again running down my face, but this time I didn't care, as I made my way back to the mall's parking lot and to Piper's car. I'd swiped her keys from her hand on my way out, and I let myself in now. I sat in the passenger seat and waited.

Not two minutes later, the car door opened and my friends climbed in, each carrying an ice cream cone. I glanced warily around, but Percy, thankfully, was nowhere in sight.

Piper handed me a vanilla ice cream cone. I nodded my thanks to her, though I had anything but an appetite. No one spoke on the way back to my house, for which, I was grateful because I wanted anything but to talk about what had just happened.

For a moment, I couldn't help but wish I had never met Percy. But almost immediately I knew that wasn't true. I did wish I'd never fallen in love with him though. It would have been better if we had just stayed friends. It would have been easier. And, even now, he was one of the best friends I ever could have asked for, growing up.

We pulled up into my driveway. Piper parked and we all got out. As I unlocked the door, Bailey raced from the kitchen and jumped up to greet me. I croucheddown and scratched his belly, immediately feeling better. Calypso knelt down beside me, joining in playing with him.

I lent out clothes for the night and we all changed before heading to the living room. I turned on the TV. Doctor Who was just starting, which was fine with all of us.

An hour later, it was over and it was decided that we would play a game.

"How about truth or dare?" Piper suggested. Having no other ideas, we nodded in agreement.

"I'll go first. Thalia, truth or dare?"

**Question answers from Chapter 1:**

**1) His name was Bailey. If I didn't mention before, he is a golden retriever.**

**2) The man on the elevator was Percy**

**New questions: **

**1)What is the ice cream shop's owner's name?**

**2) What flavor of ice cream did Annabeth get?**

**Make sure to review!**


	4. Dares and Proposals

**Hey everybody! I am back with a new chapter! This time, the girls play truth or dare. Enjoy! Btw, make sure you read the AN at the bottom!**

**Disclaimer (I always forget these!): I don't own anything except for the plot (and Mrs. Johnson)**

**Thalia POV**

"Dare!" I answered.

Piper took a minute to think about it. And then,she said dramatically, "Thalia, I dare you to let Annabeth make you up like a Barbie. That wasn't too bad, as long as nobody, especially Lady Artemis, saw me.

Annabeth looked at Piper, an indignant look on her face. "Why do_ I _have to do it?" she asked, "I hate makeup just as much as she does."

But Piper wasn't done, she grinned evilly, ignoring Annabeth. "And then you have to go outside and at the top of your lungs, sing the Barbie theme song."

OH GODS NO! Piper was going to get it so bad! Just wait.

I sighed. "Alright, fine. I'll do it, but _only_ because I never back down from a dare." I got to my feet and left the room with Annabeth.

She led me upstairs to the bathroom. "Hold on," she said. A minute later, she came back with a huge bag full of hair tools, brushes and makeup. I had no idea where it had come from. Annabeth wore about as much makeup as I did, which was next to none. She noticed the surprised look on my face and gave a small smile. "The Aphrodite cabin," she explained, "They apparently think I want this stuff. Every time I go to camp, I wind up taking home a different cosmetic. This stuff's been accumulating for years."

I nodded, like that explained everything. It did. "Figures."

"Yeah," she said. "Alright, come over here." She didn't sound particularly enthusiastic about her task, but then again, neither was I.

Annabeth led me to the sink and I washed my face. Then she applied foundation, concealer and all that jazz to my face. I honestly couldn't say it looked that bad, but I should have known better than to think we were finished as Annabeth pulled out bright shades of eyeshadow and lipstick and other stuff I didn't want to be within a hundred feet of. But I _was _supposed to look like a Barbie doll after all.

**Piper POV**

Hazel, Calypso and I waited all downstairs waiting for the big reveal. We talked and joked around about how Thalia would come down looking like a clown, due to Annabeth's makeup skills or lack thereof.

Then again, knowing Annabeth, she would be a great cosmologist. She was great at everything else. And none of us really knew anything about makeup or how it was applied. We certainly didn't wear it. But that we half the fun.

"And that's how Leo ended up in France!" Calypso finished with a flourish. I guess she'd been telling a story while I spaced out.

"When are they goin-," I was cut off by a collective gasp. I turned towards the stairs. Thalia was walking (more like tripping) down the stairs. Let's just say she looked…. wow. Not a bad wow. Just a ….surprised wow. I really underestimated Annabeth's skills. She was really good. Like, surprisingly good.

Thalia was wearing hot pink lipstick, which was a surprise, bright pink eye shadow, eyeliner, and a lot of blush.  
Her dress was a hot pink (like everything else) and flared at the bottom. It was short, but didn't go above mid-thigh. Why Annabeth had the dress, I didn't know. Her hair was covered with hairspray, part of it pulled back into a ponytail, and half of it down.

What I wondered most was how Annabeth got her into those stilettos. Something the world may never know.

It was safe to say that Annabeth didn't do anything halfway.

"Now, it's time for the second part of the dare!" Hazel said, clearly excited. I led everyone outside to the front yard. Thalia decided to take of her shoes so she could walk without constantly tripping over herself. I didn't blame her.

At the top of her lungs, running up and down the street, Thalia started singing, well, screeching, the Barbie girl theme song. A couple of the neighbors peeked outside, but didn't come out. I couldn't tell if they were amused or extremely disturbed, but no one called the cops, thankfully.

It was the funniest thing I'd ever seen! Annabeth, though she had voiced her thoughts on how stupid this dare was, had tears in her eyes, she was laughing so hard. I was so happy to see her laugh like that after the day she'd had.

Percy had been a great friend to all of us girls. We'd always goten along and had fun. Until that night, I'd seen him as a brother. During the quest to Greece, he was so kind and fun, even after Tartarus. Now, I hated his slimy, stupid, cheating, hurtful, careless, egotistical, hateful, backstabbing, dirty, savior of the world, son of Poseidon, Seaweed Brain guts for hurting Annabeth.

We all headed back inside of the daughter of Athena's house. Thalia went upstairs to "unBarbie herself"

"Okay, Piper, truth or dare!" she called, coming down the stairs a few minutes later, all traces of her formerly pink, sparkly self gone.

I knew I was going to regret it, but I answered, "Dare."

Thalia grinned evilly and I knew I was in for it. Especially after what I'd just made her do. "I dare you to….. eat five spoonfuls of mayonnaise!" I almost gagged at the thought of the horrible white, gooey substance. I hated mayonnaise. And Thalia knew it.

Reluctantly, I went to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator to grab the jar of mayo. I grabbed a spoon from the drawer and retreated back to the living room.

"I just bought that! "Complained Annabeth, referring to the jar I'd just opened.

Ignoring her, I took a deep breath, pinched my nose, scooped some out, and shoveled it in my mouth. I closed my eyes and forced myself to swallow it. Gods, if I wasn't sick after this, it would be a miracle. One down, four to go.

**Hazel POV**

As Piper shoveled mayo down her throat, we continued the game.

"Hazel, truth or dare!" Calypso asked. I chose dare.

"I dare you to call a random number and tell that person you love them, no matter who it is. Also, call them Steve!"  
That was a weird dare. But it was Calypso, which I guess gave her an excuse.

I dug out my cell phone and dialed a random number.

"Hello?" asked a raspy male voice.

"Hey, Steve, I just wanted to say I love you so very much! I don't tell you that as much as I need to."

"Oh, uh I love you too?" He slurred. He was clearly drunk. I hated drunk people. Frank had promised never to touch alcohol fro me. Frank! Gods, I felt awful doing this. It was just a dare, but still. Hopefully what happened at Annabeth's stayed at Annabeth's.

"Bye, sweetie!" I said and hung up the phone.

That was embarrassing. But at least "Steve" wouldn't remember it in the morning.

**Annabeth POV**

"Okay, one last round!" said Piper. I didn't want to. I just wanted to go to sleep, alone, where I could stop pretending to be perfectly fine.

"Annabeth, truth or dare?" asked Calypso. Only half paying attention to what I was saying, I said, "Dare."

As she thought about it for a while, her face lit up and an evil grin spread across her face.

"I dare you to go outside and propose to the first person you see!' My eyes widened. Who in their right mind would do that? Gods, Calypso...

Everyone followed me outside. I walked along the sidewalk, looking for anybody who would actually be outside at this our. The possibility that it was someone decent wasn't promising.

I was about to give up when I saw a shadowy figure coming by. It wasn't a monster, I could tell that much, which was good. But that didn't rule out robber, rapist, or any other _human_ monster,

I approached him, a blush already creeping down my neck.

"Um, will you, s-sir do me the honor of being my husband?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady and my body locked in place. I wanted to be anywhere else, doing anything else, but I'd come this far. I wasn't running away yet.

I looked up into his face, finished with my particularly inarticulate proposal. I suddenly wished it was a monster, or a rapist, or really _anyone_ except who it actually was. Horror was not a strong enough word to describe what I was feeling in that moment.

Because, for the third time today, I was looking into the face of Percy Jackson.

**Surprise! We're you e****xpecting that (unless you read this story before)!? Anyways, on to the questions**

**Answer to chapter 3 questions**

**1) The lady's name was Edith or Mrs. Johnson**

**2) She got vanilla ice cream**

**Questions for chapter 4:**

**1) How did Annabeth get the make up?**

**2) What name did Hazel call the guy in her dare?**

**Just for fun: Review or PM me - send your story on how Leo got to France and the winner gets their own character in this story! Send your story, your character's name, description and relation (friend, family [CAN be a demigod! Just give the parent], co-worker, etc.) to any character and I will pick a winner! I may have other "contests" like this in the future, so if you don't win, don't worry, you may get another chance!**

**Until next time, Sugar plums! (that's what I'll call you guys. me what you think) ~ Professor**


	5. Explanations and Renewed Friendships

**_Today is Annabeth's official birthday, July 12! To celebrate Miss Chase's 23 birthday ( she was, to be exact, born July 12, 1992) I am posting a new chapter! If you have an Instagram or a Twitter or a tumblr, wish her a happy birthday!_**

**_Disclaimer: I'm not Rick Riordan_**_._

Percy POV

It was late and the streets were empty as I walked through the dark, my hands buried in my pockets. Any normal person would have long since been at home for the night, but I wasn't really what you'd call "normal" and I didn't care. I'd been wandering the streets for close to an hour, probably leaving a trail for every monster in the vicinity right to me, but I had too much on my mind to sit at home and dwell on things. Walking at least gave me a change of scenery.

My mind wandered back to her words earlier. Again. And, once again, I felt indescribably awful.

_Look, I don't want to hear your lies or apologies_.

If only she knew the _truth_. I mean, that was the worst part. She thought I'd done that awful thing. That I'd cheated on her! It would have been one thing if I actually had, though I never would in a million years, but it wasn't even true!

But how was I going to tell her that? I didn't even know where she lived anymore.

_I don't want to have anything to do with you. You're crazy if you honestly expected something different. I can't stand to be around you. Just leave me alone, Percy._

She didn't want anything to do with me. It would be better if I just left her alone, like she wanted. But I couldn't do that. I thought about her all the time, even after five years. And after today, forget it.

Squinting through the dark, I could just make out the shadowy figures of five people ahead of me. Or, what I hoped were humans. When you were a half-blood, there was never any guarantee, but chances were it was just some kids partying or something. One of the figures dispatched itself from the group and headed toward me. _That_ brought me up a little short. I fingered Riptide, my sword-pen, in my pocket, but as it got closer, I determined it was definitely just a human girl. A painfully familiar human girl...

It was impossible. Four times in one day? After five years of nothing? But I would recognize her frame anywhere.

Nothing could have prepared me for what happened next.

She stopped only a few feet away from me and, of all things, dropped down on one knee and said, "Um, will you, s-sir do me the honor of being my husband?"

Surprised confusion didn't even begin to describe it.

Annabeth POV

Seriously? Of all people? Percy? Oh, Fates, _why_ do you hate me so? Despite everything in me that tried to prevent it, my heart beat erratically at the sight of him. Gods, I told myself, get a grip. It's been _five years_. Move on with your life!

But my heart had other ideas, as always.

This had all happened in less than a second. I was still kneeling on the ground, in front of_ Percy Jackson_ of all people, and I'd just asked him to marry me on a dare. But he wouldn't know that. I'd been expecting a stranger! One that I could walk away from and never see again! What was he doing here? An odd sort of panic set in and I was back on my feet and retreating fast before I could even really process just how much more awkward I'd just made this.

Percy called after me, sounding shocked and understandably confused. This time, groaning inwardly, I stopped, and though I was dreading it, I turned to face him.

"Look, Percy, if you're here to apologize, don't bother. What part of 'Just leave me alone,' did you not understand? I _don't want to see you_! Leave! Now!"

I was so fed up. It was like he thought he deserved the chance to explain himself. As if he hadn't done _that_ with _her_.

I turned away again, but before I could get more than a step, Percy grabbed my shoulder and spun me around. Bold move. Or maybe just very stupid. He was lucky I didn't break his arm off. I was fully capable and he knew it.

"What in Hades do you want?" I screamed in his face. He looked taken aback. Gods, he was _dense_!

"Annabeth, I need to talk to you. You don't know the truth. I need to explain myself. I'll go crazy if I don't. Please just let me explain. And if you still don't want me around after that, I'll go, no questions asked. Just... hear me out. Please."

I considered him, my face betraying nothing. Was he implying that I had my facts wrong about that night? I knew what I saw. But, he was here, after five years, practically _begging_ to explain. I sighed tiredly and looked away, but I'd given in. I led him inside, past the girls waiting in the yard, staring at us with wide eyes and identical looks of shock, and closed the door behind us, before turning to him.

"You have five minutes." I said impatiently, crossing my arms, making no effort to move from our spot on the street. I studied him quickly, against my better judgement. He was maybe an inch taller than he'd been the last time I'd seen him. His hair was neater, his face slightly more angular. And he'd filled out his frame nicely, all traces of his teenage frame long gone. Ignoring my hammering heartbeat, I looked back at his face.

Percy blinked, like he hadn't been expecting me to let him speak. "Annabeth," he started, he said my name so _gods darn lovingly_. "That night, in the restaurant, it-it wasn't what you think. I swear." I just raised an eyebrow skeptically but didn't say anything. I'd given him five minutes, whether I liked it or not. And I was nothing if not a woman of my word. He continued, "I... _gods_, Annabeth, I was going to propose to you!" My heart skipped a beat, the traitor.

"You were late and I was getting worried, because you're never late, and I just wasn't paying attention. I didn't notice what the waitress was doing. Before I knew it, she just jumped on me and was kissing me. And I was just so shocked and horrified that I couldn't move for a second, cause gods, it just felt so _wrong_, and I pushed her off pretty quickly but you had already seen the whole thing. I tried to chase after you after you left and I tried calling you, to explain, to apologize, but you wouldn't take my calls and you refused to see me. I know how it looked. And I know I should have just told you what happened some other way, in one of my messages or in a note or something, but I didn't know if you even listened to them and I didn't want you to think I was just making excuses or something. But I can't just go on with my life anymore, pretending like you and I never happened or that I'm not still in love with you, without you knowing the truth anymore. That _she_ kissed _me_. And I'm, just... sorry." He finished lamely, having rushed through the words, rambling the whole time. But at the moment, I really wasn't very focused on that.

My mind moving a mile a minute; shock, horror, devastation, and so many other emotions swirling painfully inside me. He'd been going to propose? We could've been married already. We could have had a family together by now.

I suddenly really, really regretted ignoring his calls. And I wanted to believe him, I so badly did...

But I couldn't. How could I possibly trust him?

I leveled my glare on him again, but I knew it wasn't as harsh as it had been before. "How do I know you're not lying?" I asked, my soft voice surprising even me.

He blinked and seemed to think about it. He eventually mustered a helpless shrug. "You don't," he answered dejectedly, "But you know me Annabeth, or at least you used to. Could I honestly make something like that up? Heck, could I ever _cheat_ on you? My fatal flaw is _loyalty_. I-I fell into _Tartarus_ for you. I mean, c'mon." His eyes pleaded to be believed.

I looked up at him, battling with myself. My face softened involuntarily, which Percy must have taken for a good sign. "Do you believe me?" he asked softly.

I chewed on my lips for another second, but gave a tiny nod in the end. I mean, who was I kidding, this was _Percy. It had been five years, but still, if I couldn't trust him, I couldn't trust anyone._

His jaw fell slightly open, but just as quickly he was smiling hugely, looking so relieved and light, like a huge burden had just been lifted off his shoulders. "Really?"

"Yes, S-" I'd been about to call him 'Seaween Brain.' Old habits died hard. "Yes, Percy," I amended.

He seemed unaffected by my slip up. He let out a breath and then, as if he couldn't stand the space between us anymore, grabbed me in a tight hug. "Thank you." He sounded surprisingly emotional. I just nodded.

We walked back outside a minute later. My guests sat around in the grass, looking uncomfortable. Four pairs of eyes landed on us simultaneously as we stepped back outside.

"You didn't kill him," observed Hazel, "That's always a good sign."

"Yeah, um," I glanced at Percy, who stood beside me, and then back at them, "It's a long story. It was kind of a huge misunderstanding, and..." Percy nodded.

"So everything's good between you again?" Piper asked, "Just like that?" She looked hopeful.

I glanced at Percy again. He still stood slightly farther away from me than he had back then, but I could practically feel the happiness radiating off of him. "Yeah, I guess so." The four, even Thalia, smiled in response to that.

We all made our way to the front door to go inside for the night then. I glanced behind me at Percy, who had turned slightly to go, but looked torn. I stopped and told the girls I'd be in in a second. Hazel, the last one in, shut the door behind her, giving us some privacy, but I had no doubt they'd be watching us through the windows.

"So, I guess I'll see you around," I told Percy awkwardly then.

He hesitated, still looking conflicted. "Actually, Annabeth, um... Are you free tomorrow?" He quickly added, "You can bring the girls. Um, everyone else will be there, so..."He paused again. I honestly couldn't remember the last time I'd seen him trip over his words so badly. "It can be, like, a group d-" He'd been about to say 'date,' I was sure of it. "Thing."

I just studied him. We weren't taking it very slow, it seemed, but I honestly didn't care. I had off tomorrow, and everyone else would be there anyway. "Okay," I agreed, and offered a small smile.

Percy smiled back. "Great," he said. "Have a good night." And with that, he walked away. I walked inside then, but looked back outside before closing the door, feeling my guests' eyes on me. Percy turned onto the road and walked down it, wearing the biggest, dopiest smile I'd ever seen. I shook my head as I closed the door, but I was smiling. I hoped he knew how to get home.

_Seaweed Brain_.

**This chapter ended on a good note! Their friends again! Next chapter is on the beach! **

**The "How Leo Got To France" contest is still on! So far, I haven't got any entries, so of you have a story, the contest closes July 15. The rules are in the bottom Author's Note of chapter 4. **

**Make sure to review! Until next time Sugar Plums ~ Professor**


	6. To the Beach, And Beyond

**Hey guys! Here is yet another chapter! Hope you guys enjoy! **

**Okay, you guys are seriously AMAZHANG! I already have 33 reviews, 47 followers, 19 favorites and 1,548 views! I've seen many authors do review responses, so I'll give it a try, for the reviews on chapter 5.**

**Witch of Scarlet: Haha, you will see some Percabeth soon!**

** : Thank you! Hopefully this chapter will make you continue smiling!**

**Disclaimer: I am not Rick Riordan**

**Annabeth's POV**

I didn't wake up until almost 10am. I was very grateful I had the day off work. We'd been up way too late last night. And then I remembered my itinerary for today and couldn't help the small smile that spread involuntarily across my face as my heart beat erratically in my chest. We were all going to the beach. Percy was going to be there. I was going to be at the beach with Percy. Gods, I sounded like an idiot, even in my head.

I dragged myself out of bed, and prepared to take a shower. The house was quiet. The girls had all left late last night, rather than staying over like they'd originally planned. They didn't have swimwear or any other beach essentials with them. Piper was heading over in a little while to pick me up and give me a ride to meet them and the rest of our friends there.

I walked back into my bedroom, wrapped in a towel. Not really caring, I put my hair into a messy bun. I dug through the dresser drawer that held my bathing suits. I had a few that I'd acquired over the years, mostly back from when I spent summers at camp regularly. I sifted through them for a minute, before settling on a green one-the same green one that I'd always liked before everything between Percy and I had happened, because it matched the color of his eyes almost perfectly. I hadn't worn it in years because of that.

I heard the front door open a few minutes later. Piper appeared in my doorway as I was tying my hair back, a pair of shorts thrown over the bathing suit. She was dressed similarly, in a black and white polka-dotted set and a beach coverup.

"Looking good," she observed with a smile, "I think Percy will approve."

"Whatever," I retorted, fighting the blush that threatened to creep into my cheeks. Yes, my love life was complicated and I still didn't know that what I was doing, letting Percy back into it, was a good idea or not. I didn't want to discuss it.

We left pretty quickly after that. Montauk was an hour away, and we didn't want to get there late. Piper started the car and the radio turned on with it. _Sugar_, by Maroon 5, blasted through the speakers. Piper quickly turned it down.

"Sorry!" she said apologetically. I told her it was fine, laughing.

I stared out of the window as she drove, watching the world fly by. I let my mind wander, but I couldn't focus long on any one thing before my thoughts drifted to the same person again. Percy Jackson. Seaweed Brain. He'd been out of the picture for so long now without ever actually being completely out of it. I'd tried so hard to remove him from my life as if we'd never met, but it hadn't worked out so well. Even after five years, he'd still crossed my mind more than I was happy to admit. And now he was back again. We were, what, friends? We were friends again.

But, he had been so much more than that back then; he'd been my everything. And part of me, no matter how much I tried to ignore it, desperately hoped he could become that again.

We'd been so young. What, eighteen? He'd been going to propose anyway. I guess he knew that there was no one else for him. And that waitress has ruined that pretty spectacularly. I hoped Percy had gotten her fired that night, at least. But I knew a lot of the blame fell on me too. I was the one who had misunderstood, who'd run before learning the truth.

A (horrible) thought crossed my mind then. It had been five years. Just because I hadn't really been with anyone since didn't necessarily mean he hadn't. What if he had a girlfriend? Or something even worse? I didn't see a ring on his finger, but there's still the option of a girlfriend…

I shook my head, internally yelling at myself myself. Percy would never do that to someone he cared about. I mean, he'd said he still _loved_ me. Kind, caring, loyal to a fault Percy would never do that.

And it wasn't like it mattered, I told myself. We were _friends_. I didn't feel that way about him. I didn't.

I wasn't very convincing.

We arrived at Montauk pretty quickly. The beach was crowded, but I hadn't really expected anything different.

Frank, who spotted Piper and me, waved us over with a grin. We made our way through the hot sand to him.

"Hey Frank!" I greeted, scanning for other familiar faces. Jason and Leo were playing volleyball against Calypso and Hazel-and failing quite miserably. Thalia and Nico were sitting under an umbrella a few feet away, though they were virtually ignoring each other. Nico was staring at a figure making his way toward them; a figure who was unmistakably Will Solace, son of Apollo. Thalia was on her phone, doing gods know what.

Discreetly, I searched for Percy. He was in the water, go figure. For a few seconds, I couldn't look away. As if he could feel my gaze, he turned and looked right at us, at me. He smirked. I blushed, suddenly interested in my feet.

He came out of the water and walked up to me. "Hey, Annabeth!" he said.

"Hey yourself, Seaweed Brain," I said cautiously. He smiled at his old nickname.

"I'm glad you came." he said, looking like it made his day. I glanced away.

"Well, I'm going over there to read," I said awkwardly after a pause, gesturing to the blanket near Nico, Thalia, and now Will. I turned to head that way.

Before I got very far though, I felt two strong arms wrap around me and lift me up. It was Percy, of course. He had no fear, apparently.

"Hey-" I started, but realized immediately what he was going to do. He'd done it to me before. "Percy, don't you dare! I swear-" I began as he took off down the beach. I was in the water before I could even get the sentence out.

I broke the surface, completely soaked. I was going to kill him! I searched for him, realizing just how far out he had brought me. I couldn't touch the bottom here and few people were around. I couldn't find him anywhere, which wasn't exactly reassuring. There was a tug on my ankle and the next thing I knew, I was underwater again.

Except I wasn't. I opened my eyes. I could breathe. I wasn't even surprised to see the air bubble surrounding me and Percy's smirking face.

I rolled my eyes, trying really hard to be mad. Or at least annoyed. "You are seriously impossible," I informed him.

He just shrugged, leaning back against the wall of the bubble casually, looking pleased with himself.

"So, why'd you take me down here?" I asked.

"I want to talk to you, you know, catch up. How've you been? It's been five years. Did you finish college, become an architect? Pets?" And then, so softly under his breath that I almost didn't hear him, he added, "Boyfriend?"

I answered the questions. "I've been fine! Yes, I am an architect, I got my degree at NYU. I have a dog, a golden retriever, named Bailey. And no, I don't have a boyfriend." Percy tried to hide it, but I could see the relief that flashed across his face. "Your turn," I told him helpfully.

"Um, I've also been good, I guess. I'm a teacher actually. At Riverside Middle School. I got a degree at UCLA in marine biology. I just teach regular biology though. I have a brown lab named Axle." He hesitated. "Maybe I could bring him by sometime to meet Bailey. If it's okay with you, I mean," he added quickly.

I shrugged. "I don't care. As long it's fine with your girlfriend."

"Oh, I…I—uh, I don't have a girlfriend, actually." I let out a breath. I hadn't known I'd been holding it, waiting for that answer. He doesn't have a girlfriend. That was good. Not that I cared. _I didn't._

We stayed down there for a long time. I'd almost forgotten how much I liked talking to him. Percy was just so easy to talk to.

Eventually though, Percy lifted us back to the surface and to shore. Our friends, those who hadn't already left, were waiting for us, none too discreetly.  
"We're ready," Piper announced when we reached them, completely aware of the looks we were getting and the smiles everyone tried to hide. I nodded, trying to keep a reasonable distance between Percy and me.

The ride home began rather awkwardly. Piper just pulled away from the beach with a knowing smile on her face that she made no effort to hide.

I was undeniably giddy later that night, after she dropped me off. And when it got late, I went to bed with a certain son of Poseidon on my mind, the happiest I'd been in a long, long time.

**Hope you liked it! If so, make sure to leave a review! Until next time Sugar Plums ~ Professor**

**PS: Don't forget,if you want to enter the "How Leo Got to France" contest, time is ticking! Rules in chapter 4's bottom Author's Note.**


	7. Monsters and Almost Kisses

**Hey guys! Here is another chapter! (This may or may not have a little Percabeth in it)**

**Percy's POV**

I pulled into the parking lot of Riverside Middle School at exactly 7:30 am the next day, feeling the effects of the late nights the last few days. Thank the gods for coffee.

I got out of my blue Prius, slung my bag over my shoulder, and began walking toward the entrance.

I was almost to the door when I heard multiple loud noises sounding simultaneously: the high-pitched screaming of a middle-school girl, a deep roar, a sharp hissing sound, like a snake, and a monstrous, terrifying … goat bleat? Taken together, the sounds not only immediately signaled trouble but also made for a pretty strange combination. Changing course, I turned the corner and walked around the side of the building. A giant lion with a goat head on it's back and snake for a tail appeared in my line of vision. A Chimera.

Backed into a corner, I was someone I recognized immediately. Her name was Brooklyn Anderson and she was the smartest girl in my class. She had bright blue eyes and golden blond hair. She was very talented for someone who was also so academically gifted-she'd won the talent show earlier this year. And apparently she was demigod. That last bit of information wasn't a huge surprise. I'd had my suspicions for a while now.

Continuing forward, I dropped my bag on the ground and had Riptide out and in sword-form in one movement. Prepped for battle, as much as one could be in a dress shirt and trousers, I ran forward.

"HEY!" I yelled at the monster, trying to take its attention away from the student. It worked. The Chimera turned and roared/hissed/bleated at me loudly. I glanced quickly at Brooklyn. Her eyes were wide and she looked terrified, but she wasn't hurt.

Focusing on the monster again, I swung Riptide in a wide arc, hitting it in its chest. It lunged towards me, slightly injured, attempting to bite my head off. I rolled to the side before it could, but the lion's tooth caught me on my arm and a long, bloody gash and knocked me off balance. I fell to the ground. The chimera dove again. Wincing, I dove between its legs and rolled from underneath, emitting me behind it. The Chimera, for all it's brawn, wasn't very smart. It stood, looking for me, obviously confused. I used this as an advantage. I stabbed it in the back. Reducing it to golden dust before it had the chance to do anything else.

I ran over the young girl. She looked shocked and seriously freaked out. I had some explaining to do.

Brooklyn and I walked into the school. I held my bloody arm to me-there went another work shirt. Once in my classroom, I opened my desk drawer, retrieved the Ambrosia I kept there for emergencies, and ate a square. Immediately, I felt a lot better and the gash began to close. I thought about taking advantage of the water bottle that sat on my desk too, but Brooklyn l was already gaping at my closing wound and I figured she already had enough to take in. I rolled my sleeves up, grateful the gash had been low enough on my arm that cuffing them at my elbows hit the blood. "Mr. Jackson," Brooklyn stuttered, "What just...you...I-I mean, what-"

"Brooklyn," I began, cutting her off before she hurt herself, "We need to talk."

* * *

"So, I'm part god," Brooklyn said, looking stunned, "There are gods and monsters and a camp for people like me? I have to go there?"

"Yes" I told her solemnly, remembering how shocked and disorienting it was to find out myself all those years ago. "Are you gonna be okay?" Brooklyn gave a shaky nod, which I returned with an encouraging smile, trying to communicate that she would be okay.

By now, school was starting in a few minutes and students were flooding in. "Hey, Mr. Jackson!" they said as they walked past my desk and took their seats.

I sent a quick e-mail to Grover, explaining about Brooklyn. Just as I hit send, someone approached the desk. I looked up.

It was Abby Baker.

"Mr. Jackson, I - I have a question about last night's homework?" she said shyly, though it came out as more of a question.

I answered her question about the homework and started class, hoping the monster attack wasn't an omen of what the rest of the day held.

**Annabeth's POV**

I drove home from work, completely exhausted. I had started the day off with a light workload and had even had hopes of finishing early. I had been wrong. All day, I finished one thing, only to be handed two more to replace it: paperwork, building designs, blueprints, and at one point, even a small puppy. The puppy belonged to my coworker and friend, Lizzie, who was heading out of town last minute and needed a dog-sitter. So, of course, who was I to refuse, if only because it would give Bailey a playmate for a few days? It was a Yorkie, named, for whatever reason, Bambi. He was actually pretty cute.

Finally, I was home. I pulled into my driveway and got out before opening the back door to let the dog out. Bambi jumped to the ground and bounded up the driveway-he'd been here before and knew his way around. I opened the trunk to retrieve his bed and other necessities-

And turned to see the familiar figure approaching me from the car parked along the road, my heart skipping annoyingly. I simply watched him make his way up the driveway, closing the trunk and shifting Bambi's things in my arms.

"Percy, what are you doing here?" I asked, once he stood before me, smirking.

He shrugged. "I wanted to see you."

"Uh huh," I replied, unimpressed, looking him over more closely. He was covered in a number of mostly-healed wounds that I was positive hadn't been there at the beach yesterday, including a pink scar on his forearm that looked like it had been particularly bad. "What happened to _you_?" I asked, more curious that truly concerned. Unfortunately, I'd seen him in _way_ worse shape.

He ran a hand through his hair. "Oh, I got attacked by a Chimera today, you know, the usual. Turns out, one of my students is a demigod. Which I was totally right about, by the way."

"Oh," I responded, like that was a totally normal thing for him to say-for us, it kind of was. "Good for you, Seaweed Brain."

He shrugged, grinning. "You asked."

I rolled my eyes, surprised by how quickly we'd picked up our usual banter again. "Shut up."

Percy grew serious then though, his gaze fixed behind me. I looked over my shoulder and had to gasp at what I saw. Bambi was not Bambi anymore. The small dog had transformed into a lion; a lion with the head of a man and a scorpion tail. A Manticore. It set it's gaze on us, slobber dripping from its mouth. I pulled out the knife I kept hidden in my boot at all times. Percy already had Riptide out of his pocket. "Really? he sighed at the monster, "I'm really not in the mood for this again today." The Manticore didn't seem to care though as it hissed and screamed at us. I glanced at Percy, sending a message with my eyes. He just nodded, understanding. Despite everything, he was still my most trusted monster fighting partner.

The Manticore lunged at Percy, but he deftly avoided it, rolling out of the way and into the grass. I used its distraction to my advantage. I snuck behind it, trying to remain unseen and avoid the poisonous spikes on the monster's tail, dearly wishing I had my cap with me. It, unfortunately, was inside, upstairs in my room, and not available at the moment.

Percy got in a lucky shot at the monster's front, which sent it jumping back a few feet toward me. I wasn't quick enough. The sharp point of the tail whipped me in the thigh, burrowing into my flesh. That was the end of that plan. My vision went blurry and my leg exploded in tremendous pain. I let out a pained scream as my leg collapsed under me. I tried to work through the pain, to keep fighting, but that was easier said than done. My eyes seemed to close against my will.

After what seemed like a very long, painful time, I opened my eyes, slowly, breathing shallow breaths through the haze of pain. The world was spinning and blurry. I could only just make out Percy struggling with the monster just a few feet from me. Using what seemed like all my energy, I mustered the strength to sit up. As pain rushed to my head and pounded in my injured leg. Trying to ignore it, but failing miserably, I crawled on all fours towards the monster, which, looking back, probably wasn't a super smart move, but I blame it on the pain altering my judgement. I was low enough to the ground that the Manticore didn't see me, distracted as it was with trying to kill Percy. Gripping my knife, I raised my weapon just high enough to reach the bottom of the monster's spine and plunged it into its back. It exploded and I fell back to the ground as the poison continued to course through my veins.

Percy was beside me in an instant, Riptide momentarily discarded on the grass beside him. His outline was fuzzy and I could feel myself slipping from consciousness. "Annabeth!" he said, reaching for something in his pocket before cursing in Ancient Greek. Alright, hold on, okay? Don't you _dare_ die on me!" He moved to pick me up, and I only barely caught the words he murmured then under his breath, "I can't lose you again."

He carried me inside, somehow opening the front door that I had never unlocked. "Nectar and Ambrosia!" he said, shaking me slightly to make me focus, "Where?"

"Kitchen," I managed to choke out, though I was pretty sure the poison was reaching my lungs because it was really, _really_ hard to breathe. My leg was on fire. Percy took off in that direction and laid me carefully down on the cool floor, before he set to rummaging through (and destroying) my cabinets in search of the godly food and drink. Bailey was barking somewhere close by, but I couldn't see him.

He flung himself down beside me again a minute later, first aid kit in hand. He tore it open and produced Ambrosia squares, which he nearly had to force down my throat, before he went to work, pouring Nectar into the wound on my leg.

As soon as I swallowed the godly food, I started feeling better. Thank the gods. My thigh still hurt, but it was reduced to a dull throb, and my breathing came easier. I felt awake again. Percy looked calmer, relief filling his every feature.

"Oh my gods, Annabeth, I'm so sor-" I cut him off by throwing my arms around his neck, which seemed to help him more than anything I could say. He hugged me back.

"It's not your fault," I mumbled into his shoulder. After a few minutes, he pulled back and stared at me.

"Gods, that was terrifying," he said, "I never want to see you turn that color again." His voice dropped down to barely above a whisper. "You had me scared there for a minute."

"You can't get rid of me that easily, Percy," I told him with a gentle laugh. He was so close. His breath tickled my cheeks, which I knew were starting to redden. Neither of us said anything. His eyes never left mine as he started leaning closer. Almost without thinking, I started to lean in too. We were centimeters apart when Bailey finally came bounding in. He jumped between us and licked my face. I avoided Percy's eyes and tried desperately to fight the disappointment I felt at the interruption. I wasn't very successful.

I chuckled as Bailey rolled over, looking at me expectantly. I scratched his belly. After a few seconds, Percy, apparently over his own disappointment, smiled and joined in.

We got up off the kitchen floor after a few minutes and continued on with a normal conversation, as if the almost-kiss had never happened, though I could feel his eyes on me when he thought I wasn't looking. He told me about his morning with Brooklyn and I told him about work. I couldn't believe I had fallen for a monster's trap. I'd played right into Lizzie-who-actually-wasn't-Lizzie's hands.

Time flew by together the way it had when Percy and I had been younger. Before either of us knew it, it was late and Percy was putting on his coat and we were both heading in the direction of the door. Honestly, I didn't want him to leave. Not at all.

"So," he said, standing awkwardly in the doorway, clearly not any more anxious to go than I was. "Today was nice. We should do it again... sometime."

"Yeah, definitely," I replied, and his answering smile made my heart soar.

"Great." He looked reluctantly outside again. "I guess I should get going..."

He'd only taken a step or two down the sidewalk before I found myself calling out, without even thinking, "Umm- actually, do you want to stay?" He looked back with cautiously optimistic eyes. "I have a spare room," I continued weakly, not meeting his eyes, "I mean, you don't have to, but-but I just thought you might want to. I'm tired of being alone here..." I trailed off weakly and slowly met his eyes again.

He stood in the same spot on the sidewalk, frozen in place, a huge grin transforming his face. "Gods," he said, closing the distance between us again, "I was so hoping you'd say that."

That was pretty much the end of it. I closed the front door, we said goodnight, and we headed off in separate directions to our respective bedrooms, but just knowing that he would be there tonight, under the same roof, gave me a feeling of comfort and rightness that I hadn't felt in five years.

OoOoO line break OoOoO

I woke up screaming, tears running down my face. My fists were clenched, nails digging into my palms.

I hadn't even fully woken up before Percy appeared in the doorway, Riptide in hand and wearing absolutely nothing but his boxers. His hair was tousled from sleep, but he looked wide awake and alert.

"Annabeth, what's wrong?! What is it? Where is it?"

I took a deep breath. "It's nothing. Sorry for waking you up. It was just a nightmare."

Percy's expression softened and he recapped Riptide, shrinking the sword back to a pen. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked cautiously. He stayed where he was in the doorway, apparently unconcerned with his completely lack of clothing. "I mean-"

"It's okay". Without really thinking about it or why I was telling him, I began speaking. Percy was just so easy to talk to-a fact I hadn't realized I'd missed until it was no longer missing. "We were back at camp, all of us, fighting Gaea's army. Or I guess it was her army. Anyway, it was total chaos and people were dying, but we were winning, us and the Romans. You were fighting next to me, like always. But then the tide turned and soon I was the only one left. Everyone was dead. Everyone. And I looked beside me..." I trailed off, aware of what I was about to say and what it would imply. But Percy was still standing there, looking at me with genuine interest and concern in his green eyes, beckoning me to continue. So I did. "You were dead. Covered in blood and just, gone. After you promised that you wouldn't leave me, you were dead. And I was next." I was only slightly surprised when tears filled my eyes at the mental image of Percy, lying lifeless on the ground in a pool of his own blood.

I finished talking and just sat there in the semidarkness, not meeting his eyes.

Percy moved silently forward and sat down on the end of my bed. He just looked at me for a few seconds, not saying anything. "I won't leave you," he said finally. "It was just a nightmare. We beat Gaea. And I meant it when I made that promise, Annabeth. I still do. I'm not going anywhere. As long as you want me around, I'm here."

And then I was in his arms and he was holding me and a whole different kind of tears were filling my eyes and escaping down my cheeks as I buried my face in his bare shoulder.

"Do you want me to stay with you?" Percy asked after a minute. I silently nodded and he moved to lay us both down.

"Goodnight, Annabeth," Percy whispered into my hair. He kissed my temple and I shivered at the contact.

"Goodnight, Percy," I answered, suddenly exhausted. I fell into a dreamless sleep curled into his warm body, feeling safe and completely right.

**Did you guys like it? If so leave a review, telling me what you thought! Hope you enjoyed it!**

**Until next time Sugar Plums ~ Professor**

**PS: Don't forget,if you want to enter the "How Leo Got to France" contest, time is ticking! Rules in chapter 4's bottom Author's Note.**


	8. New Assistants and Realizations

**Hey guys, I am back with another update! Sorry it took longer than usual, but will you except my apology with a new chapter? And, you guys, I officially have FIFTY followers. AH! Thank you so so so much! You guys are the !**

**Witch of Scarlet: Haha, thanks, and don't worry, it'll hit soon!**

**Percy's POV**

I woke up to a pleasant-smelling mane of blonde hair tickling my face. My first thought, stupidly, was that somehow a monster had made it's way into my room and was about to eat my face off. This, of course,broke me out of my sleepy haze and I shot up and out of bed, fumbling for Riptide by reflex. This caused the "monster" to roll back and fall out of bed, where she landed with a _thud_. Realizing my mistake immediately and wincing slightly, I crawled over to the other side of the bed and peered over. Annabeth was lying groggily on the hardwood floor, rubbing the back of her head and muttering "Ow." Oops. Her eyes opened and she stared up at me with an expression that I can only describe as completely "Annabeth": tired, annoyed, and, yes, slightly amused.

"What's going on?" she asked, her voice still thick with sleep as her calculating eyes scanned the room for some sign of trouble. Once a half-blood, always a half-blood.

"Um, nothing," I answered, looking away and fighting against the blood that rushed to my cheeks, "Nothing, sorry." She rolled her eyes at me but smiled. I offered a hand and she took it. I pulled her to her feet.

"Uh huh" she said sarcastically, smirking.

"Sorry," I muttered again. She rolled her eyes again and walked over to the bathroom.

"Alright, I'm going to take a shower. I have work today," she said. She wasn't the only one, though words couldn't describe how much I _didn't_ want to go.

"Ok, I'm going to, uh, go," I replied, awkwardly backing out of the room. She nodded, closing the door behind her and I retreated down the stairs to gather my things. I noticed the time; it was only six-thirty. Deciding I had time to kill until school started, I found my shirt and went into the kitchen, looking for something to eat. Annabeth wouldn't mind.

I had an idea then that immediately made me smile; one that Annabeth would have classified as a "Seaweed-Brained" idea. I started hunting through the cabinets in search of food coloring.

* * *

Annabeth appeared about half an hour later, her heals clicking on the stairs as she descended.

"I thought you left," she said questioningly. She didn't look particularly upset that I hadn't. Her eyes moved passed me then to the plate sitting atop the counter, and her eyes lit with amusement.

"Blue pancakes?" she smiled, "I haven't had those in a while." Without argument though, she opened a cabinet and produced another two plates for us.

We started eating and I took the opportunity to study her, noticing, again, just how much had changed about her, and even more things that were exactly the same. She was dressed for work, in a gray, black and white striped dress with a white blazer, and her long blonde hair was pulled into a side bun-thing. She wore light makeup, which was new, but I couldn't say I didn't like it. She was even more gorgeous than she'd been as a teenager. And she'd been the most beautiful girl I knew _then._

"Thanks for staying the night," she said as we finished eating.

"No problem. Anything for you," I told her. To my surprise, she leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. My skin seemed to spark where her lips touched it. Her kiss left my cheek tingling.

She noticed the time then and grabbed her purse, moving toward the door. Turning to look at me before she left, she said "Thanks for being an amazing...friend. It... means a lot." She smiled at me, but I could tell she knew I would have used a different word there. I smiled back anyway, shoving aside the pang of hurt. I'd take what I could get for now, I guess.

She looked at me for another few seconds before turning around again. I watched her get into her car and pull out, offering a halfhearted wave, before I went back inside to get my keys and left to head home to change quickly for work myself, locking the door behind me.

**Annabeth's POV**

I walked into the giant lobby of the architecture firm. My heels clicked on the tile as I headed into the elevator, waited, and stepped inside. The doors had just started closing when someone yelled,"Wait!"

I put my hand between the doors and they opened up again. In slipped a woman who couldn't have been any older than me, with bright hazel eyes and chocolate brown hair pulled back into a chignon. She wore a starch white blouse and a pencil skirt.

"Hi, thanks," she said shyly, with a slight southern drawl, "I'm, um, new here. I'm Emmy." I nodded.

"Annabeth," I replied in turn, trying to hide the fact that she was kind of annoying me.

We rode up the elevator in an awkward silence after that. As slowed to a stop, I nearly l sighed in relief. "I'll, uh, see you around I guess," I told Emmy awkwardly before I exited the elevator.

I made my way to my office and sank down into the leather chair behind my desk. My desk was positioned so I could see the sprawl of the city below out the huge glass windows. The Manhattan skyline spread out before me and I smiled to myself as I pulled out my sketch book.

I was currently working on a design for a new aquarium in town. It was going to be huge; four floors, rounded, the front jutting out of the rest of the building. In the walls would be floor to ceiling fish tanks, separated by tube-like walkways for tourists to walk through, aquariums on either side.

After a while, my thoughts drifted to Percy again, though I blamed it this time on the fact that I was designing an aquarium. I thought about last night and how I felt so..._safe_ in his arms. I knew it was wrong. I shouldn't have done it. But with Percy, I just couldn't help it. He was my weakness; he always had been. Just thinking about him made my heart begin to pound erratically in my throat and it was like I was seventeen all over again.

I couldn't still love him. I definitely couldn't show him that I still did anyway.

We were a thing of the past, and the past needed to stay just that: in the past. I had to move on. I had to forget about his adorable smile, his soothing sea green eyes, his tousled black hair that I always had to resist the urge to fix….

A knock on my open office door and the voice of the person doing the knocking broke me from my thoughts.

"Annabeth!" It was Emmy, the girl from the elevator, "Looks like I'm your assistant! How awesome!" My eyes widened and I hoped she took it as excitement or surprise, rather than the dread it really was. Really, I had the urge to groan. I had always flown solo. I'd never wanted or needed an assistant, and I'd told my superiors that. Apparently they hadn't listened.

"Um, okay," I answered, trying for a smile and hoping it looked genuine. "Um, well, right now, I'm just working on these designs for an aquarium. I suppose you could, um, help?"

Emmy just smiled widely. "I actually have a few ideas…."

* * *

After finishing up the aquarium designs and handing them into my boss, Emmy and I decided walk to go get some coffee. There was this little shop right across the street that made the best hazelnut coffee around.

We walked in and found a table near the window. A fair-haired waiter made his way over to us. "What can I get ya?" he asked, eyeing me in a particularly flirtatious manner.

Emmy answered first. "Can I have a s'mores cappuccino and a blueberry muffin?" The waiter nodded, jotting it down on his pad.

"And for you" he asked, his eyes trailing me. I rolled my own eyes. "Caramel Macchiato and a butter croissant," I told him quickly. The waiter nodded, wrote it down, and walked away, though not before winking smoothly at me.

"Well he wasn't very discreet," noted Emmy as we watched his retreating figure with varying degrees of disgust. After spending a good part of the morning with her, I'd decided she wasn't that bad, despite her laid back southern personality that was a bit too slow for the hustle and bustle of an architecture firm in New York. Still, I liked her enough that I figured we could be pretty good friends.

"He was kind of cute though," she reasoned, looking at me with a slight grin, "Maybe you could get his number. He'd definitely give it to you."

I shook my head and explained that I couldn't do that. I mentioned Percy, but didn't get into detail beyond that it was "complicated." I definitely left our history alone, and also what we even really were now. Mostly because I didn't know. But, as much as I knew it would be better to just move on, I knew that a pretty large part of me wanted no such thing, and it definitely prevented me from getting numbers of flirtatious, borderline creepy waiters. "You're welcome to though," I told her.

Emmy laughed. "Oh no. I'm taken. And that guy's got nothing on Danny anyway." Danny was Emmy's fiancé. She'd mentioned him earlier.

"So, I was thinking" she started after a minute of semi-awkward silence. "Would you maybe want to be my bridesmaid? I don't have a lot of friends and we just moved here a few months ago, so we don't know a lot of people, and it's going to be small. And I know I just met you, but I think we're going to be great friends, so, you know, if you want..."

I hesitated, not because of Emmy personally, but because of the fact that I was a demigod, which meant I didn't like dresses because they made concealing weapons difficult, and also that there was a pretty good chance that something bad would happen and Emmy's wedding would be ruined, which I definitely didn't want. But my assistant's expression looked so hopeful, I just smiled. "Sure thing."

A huge smile spread across Emmy's face just as the waiter returned with our order and set our coffee and pastries before us.

"Anything else I can do for you?" he asked, obviously only talking to me, which was not only uncalled for, but seriously rude.

"Um, yeah, could I maybe get a little less flirting?" I said to him, which was probably mean, but he was getting on my nerves, "With a side of 'Not Interested.' Thanks." I just stared at the flabbergasted waiter, with what Percy used to describe as my "storm cloud" eyes. Embarrassed, he turned and hurried away without another word. Emmy, looking greatly amused, gave me a high five.

"Way to put him in his place!" she giggled.

* * *

After I got home, I changed into some comfortable clothes and collapsed on the couch to watch TV but not really paying attention. I had started to doze off when my cell phone started to ring. Sighing, I reached over and grabbed was Piper.

"Hello?" I answered, trying not to sound like I'd just been sleeping. It must not have worked very well.

"Hey, Annabeth! Did I wake you up?" Piper asked.

"Kind of" I answered, "But it's okay. What's up?"

"I was wondering if you had any plans for tomorrow. Leo, Jason, Hazel, Nico, Frank, Calypso, Thalia and I are going to camp, like a reunion kind of thing. I thought you might want to come too."

I thought about it. I'd have to miss work again, but I was overdue for time off anyway, and it had been way too long since I'd been to Camp Half-Blood. "Yeah, sure," I replied, "Why not?"

"Alright, Great! See you tomorrow, 10am!" Piper said and hung up. I put my phone back down next to me and closed my eyes again, comfortable and not wanting to move.

**Percy's POV**

Traffic, as usual, was absolutely terrible in the city as I headed to camp for the last minute reunion my friends had put together. Getting to the country roads and away from the constant stop-and-go was, as always, a relief. I parked my car at the bottom of Half-Blood Hill, where a few others were also parked, and got out, breathing in the familiar smell of strawberry fields and fresh air, as I walked toward camp. At the hill's crest, I was greeted by the familiar scene of orange-clad campers and satyrs running around below. For most of the camp, it was just another day and the half-bloods moved through their regular schedules.

I met up with everyone in the dining pavilion, the designated meeting place.I was apparently one of the last there.

"Percy!" Thalia greeted, while Hazel and Calypso hugged me hello, "Just in time!"

"For what?" I asked.

"To see me beat Jason in a sparring match." The group was already moving to exit the pavilion, "You coming?"

"Yeah," I said, "Be right there. I'll catch up with you guys in a minute." There were some 'okays' in response, and the group of my friends dispersed. I followed them out of the pavilion, but walked in a different direction, toward the canoe lake, my favorite place.

I sat at the end of the pier, my feet dangling over the water, watching several orange-clad campers rowing their canoes, talking and laughing together and reminiscing about a simpler, easier time when I'd been one of the campers myself.

I was broken from my thoughts when someone sat down beside me. Annabeth, sat in the same position I did, staring out over the water, the sun turning her hair gold.

"Hey," I said, eyeing her. She remained silent. "What are you doing here?"

"Thinking."

"So, nothing new then."

She looked at me and hit my arm lightly. "Shut up," she lightly scolded.

I grinned but didn't say anything. She didn't either.

Suddenly, sitting there at camp, with Annabeth beside me, the memories came flooding back to me, more vividly than ever. Annabeth kissing my cheek after winning the chariot race, her lips on mine as she kissed me in Mount St. Helens, my vision of her during my dip in the Styx, our underwater kiss, getting caught together in the Argo II stables, falling into Tartarus for her, every kiss, every 'I love you,' everything, crashing over me like a wave.

"Annabeth," I began, "I-"

A siren went off in the background, signaling that the sparring match was about to start.

"Race you there!" Annabeth shouted suddenly, and the next thing I knew, I was in the water and Annabeth was sprinting toward the arena, as if we were kids again.

"Oh, you are going to pay for that," I yelled, the water shooting me back onto dry ground like a rocket, not a drop of water on me.

"You have to catch me first!" she shouted back, obviously laughing.

Completely forgetting everything I'd been about to say, I ran after her as fast as I could, trying not to laugh myself.

**Did you like it? If so, please leave a review. Let me tell you what, if I get 7 reviews for this chapter before Wednesday, and I will update that day! How's that sound? **

**Until next time! ~ Professor**


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